At the inception of The Church of Pentecost (CoP), the Lord entered into a covenant with the Church, which was received through prophecies at Akroso in 1931, confirmed in 1940 at the Easter Convention in Winneba, and repeated at a general convention in Koforidua in 1948.
A portion of the covenant reads: “It is not because of how few or many you are in membership that I have chosen to covenant with you. I have done this out of my eternal purpose and goodwill for my church; the Church will grow into a Pentecostal Church where the gifts of the Holy Spirit will operate bountifully upon men and women; the Church will spread across the world, a great international church that will send missionaries to Africa and the rest of the world. That the Church will make disciples for the Soon-coming Christ….”
This evangelism covenant can be compared to God’s word to Israel in Isaiah 59:21 (KJV): “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” saith the Lord, “My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed,” saith the Lord, “from henceforth and forever.”
This covenant, as illustrated in the above scripture, is generational – “your seed and your seed’s seed forever.” Bringing this to our context as a Church suggests that God’s covenant with us must be passed on to future generations of CoP members.
It is worth noting that the covenant to make the Church a great International Pentecostal Church has been fulfilled, and now The Church of Pentecost is present in 151 nations worldwide. However, the Church cannot rest on its laurels. Instead, we should aim to possess all nations of the world and affect every sphere of society until the second advent of Christ.
Evangelism is vital and should be aggressive at the local church level, hence the need to reposition the local church for effective evangelism to achieve these goals.
WHAT IS EVANGELISM?
J.I. Packer notes in his book, “Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God,” that: “To evangelise is to present Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, that men shall come to put their trust in God through Him as their Savior, and serve Him as their king in the fellowship of His Church.”
In other words, evangelism is the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit by employing the use of accompanying or appropriate gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically power gifts such as faith, miracles, and gifts of healing.
According to Mark 16:15, our Lord Jesus has entrusted believers with evangelising “all creatures/people” on the face of the earth. The command involves bringing the Gospel to every tribe, nation, and age group. This means that children must be included in our evangelism agenda.
Another critical factor in evangelism, as stated in Matthew 28:18-20, is that evangelism is a process and not an event. This process involves preparation, going, preaching the Gospel, baptising, follow-up, and new convert care. Until this is achieved, our evangelism mandate is not complete.
WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS EVANGELISE
• It takes an evangelistic-oriented member in the Local Church to be prayerful, committed, dependable and sacrificial in given
• The general covenant of God with believers (Isaiah 59:21) and specific covenant with the Church of Pentecost contains evangelism, discipling and possessing the nations. We must fulfil our part of this divine contract by preparing disciples for the soon-coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
• Jesus was a soul winner, and we must follow His steps – 1 Timothy 1:15; Luke 19:10; Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38.
• The harvest is great, the labourers are few – Matthew 9:37-38; Isaiah 6:8; John 4:35.
• We must obey the Great Commission. His last Command must be our first priority – Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 5:32.
• Everyone must hear the gospel before Jesus’ Second coming – Matthew 24:14; Romans 10:14.
• The blood of the unconverted will be demanded from us – Ezekiel 3:17-18; Ezekiel 33:6-8.
• The value of a soul. Gaining the whole world is less than the value of one soul. (Mk. 8:36-38). Countless angels in Heaven rejoice over one sinner who gets converted – Luke 15:10; Daniel 7:10
• Rewards and crowns for the soul winner both in this life and in the life to come – Daniel 12:3; John 4:36; 1 Corinthians 15:58, Luke 10:20
• The Power of God is demonstrated during Evangelism – Romans 1:16; Mark 16:17; Psalms 96:3.
• God adds to the church through evangelism. The Church grows through evangelism – Acts 2:47.
• Jesus is the only way to Heaven. John 14:6.
• Over 4,200 Religions and more than 500 Cults in the World, only Christianity has a Redeemer – Acts 4:12.
CONCLUSION
Delivering the State of the Church Address at the recently-held 46th General Council Meetings, the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, reported that the Church membership as of 2022 was 10.7% of Ghana’s population. This is a significant number, and if every church member wins just one soul a year, the church’s membership could reach 50% of Ghana’s population in just three years.
However, achieving this requires the development of a culture of evangelism within local churches through the cultivation of knowledge, attitude change, and consistent practice. As we mark this year’s National Evangelism Week, I urge all ministers, ministers’ wives, officers, and members to make a concerted effort to win souls for Christ and fulfil the evangelism covenant God has made with The Church of Pentecost.
Written by Pastor Frank Awuah Fordjour
